a legit way to get windows or other OS for light gaming

[Darth Wilhelm]

Hey does anyone have an idea about where to get cheaper (legit) windows keys, failing that is there a good (idiot-proof) cheap operating system which will work with steam origin and the downloadable verson of GOG (forgot the name)? 

 

- Needs to be completely idiot proof (not MacOs)

- Needs to play well with Steam, Origin and Downloadable GOG

- Needs to be cheap, CHEAPER IS BETTER

[kelvinhall05]

Linux. Won't work with all Steam games, but it's completely free and highly customizable.

 

Either that, or get a Windows key off of Kinguin for super cheap. If you do go the Linux route, though, go for Ubuntu, as IIRC it's the most idiot proof.

[Snipergod87]

Steam can run on Linux.

Not sure about origin but I doubt it.

You can buy a legit Windows 10 Home key on amazon for ~$100

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

Linux works OK for games these days and it's free, plus no Micro$oft telemetry

[WereCatf]

15 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Linux. Won't work with all Steam games, but it's completely free and highly customizable.

Origin isn't supported under Linux.

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

2 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Origin isn't supported under Linux.

Wine is a thing, you know.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, orbitalbuzzsaw said:

Wine is a thing, you know.

Yes, a poorly-working thing.

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

1 minute ago, WereCatf said:

Yes, a poorly-working thing.

Yeah but so is Origin

[meenmeen1103]

10 minutes ago, orbitalbuzzsaw said:

Yeah but so is Origin

Adding one poorly working thing to another makes it much worse.

[ShadySocks]

SteamOS???

[kirashi]

1 hour ago, william axton hylle said:

Hey does anyone have an idea about where to get cheaper (legit) windows keys, failing that is there a good (idiot-proof) cheap operating system which will work with steam origin and the downloadable verson of GOG (forgot the name)? 

1 hour ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Linux. Won't work with all Steam games, but it's completely free and highly customizable.

Either that, or get a Windows key off of Kinguin for super cheap. If you do go the Linux route, though, go for Ubuntu, as IIRC it's the most idiot proof.

Keys from unauthorized re-sellers such as Kinguin or eBay are not legit. The only legit keys come from authorized retail channels and cost the same as Microsoft charges for them (give or take a few dollar here and there) since Microsoft sets the pricing, similarly to how Apple controls the pricing of their products super strictly.

[betacollector64]

If you are in school, you qualify for MS Imagine, where you can get a free license of Windows 8.1 Embedded Industry Pro.

[Guest]

Linux gaming is pretty good. I think Ubuntu is the officially supported Linux “Distro” on steam. Otherwise I think mint is gaining popularity. 

 

Games like Metro Redux, Rust, Half-Life 2 are all fully windows compatible. 

Edit: LINUX COMPATIBLE... but yes they work on windows too. 

[Giganthrax]

You can get Windows 10 for free from Microsoft's website. If you don't activate it, it will have a watermark and not let you customize some appearance settings for Windows itself and occasionally nag you to go buy it, but otherwise it'll work perfectly fine forever. It's a great budget option and you can always buy a licence later. 

[billstelling]

ebay and 10 bucks will get you windows 10 pro...